Electric Vehicles This Week: Ola Electric’s Brewing Lawsuit, General Motors Boosts Spending

Indian emobility giant Ola Electric may be looking at a legal battle brewing out of the acquisition of Amsterdam-based electric vehicles (EV) startup Etergo BV, which had to undergo a fire sale or face bankruptcy.

Etergo was a crowdfunded initiative that raised millions of euros in two crowdfunding rounds. But after raising around €21 Mn ($24.8 Mn) in equity financing from more than 6,000 individual investors, the company got sold to Ola Electric for €3.75 Mn valuation.

More than 900 investors who put their money into Etergo through crowdfunding campaigns are now in the process of filing a lawsuit in a European court to recover their money from Etergo and its current owner Ola Electric.

Inc42 spoke to at least five such investors who have invested €2,000-5,000, but now getting back barely 10% of their original investments.

Read our report, “Ola’s Electric Ambitions Hinge On A Brewing Lawsuit Stemming From An Acquisition”

Meanwhile, Ola Electric’s electric scooter will hit the market in January 2021. The electric scooter, initially manufactured at a facility in the Netherlands, will reportedly be sold in India as well as Europe.

Chart Of The Week: What Etergo Promised To Investors Who Picked-up Stake via Crowdfunding

EV News Of The Week

Bounce Gets Approval For Its Electric Scooter

Bengaluru-based bike-sharing platform Bounce has received all the required approvals for its self-made electric scooter, the company’s cofounder and CEO Vivekananda HR announced on November 26. The company has invited its users living in Bengaluru for test rides of the electric scooter. The interested customers can fill out a form to ride.

The latest announcement comes two months after Bounce received its homologation certification from International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) for its self-assembled two-wheeler electric vehicles (EV).

Govt Aims To Set Up 69K Charging Station

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has announced setting up infrastructure for one EV charging kiosk at around 69K petrol stations across India to make Indian an EV nation by 2030.

Addressing a virtual conference, Gadkari said the government had taken a slew of measures to promote EVs like cutting GST to 5%, allowing delinking of battery cost of 2-3 wheelers from vehicle cost as it accounts for 30% of the cost.

Omega Seiki Unveils 3 EV Models 

New Delhi-based hybrid technology solutions company Omega Seiki has unveiled three EV models for both commercial and passenger segments — three-wheeler for cargo segment Sun Ri, e-rickshaw Ride, and passenger auto-rickshaw Stream. The company plans to start delivery of the models from March next year.

“The Indian market has great potential to capture electric vehicle technology on a larger scale. Replacing conventional internal combustion engines with electric vehicles will benefit the nation in multiple ways by generating new employment possibilities, contributing to the economy, and sustaining the environment,” Anglian Omega Group Chairman Uday Narang said in a statement.

EV Headlines From Around The World

General Motors To Boost EV Spending

American multinational corporation General Motors has decided to spend $27 Bn on autonomous and wholly EVs through 2025. This translates into an increase of $7 Bn from General Motors’ initial plan to invest $20 Bn to roll out 30 new EVs by 2025.

European Union Could Produce Enough Batteries By 2025

The European Union could produce enough batteries by 2025 to power its fast-growing fleet of EV without relying on imported cells, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said. The EU wants to boost local production of the building block for green industries, including hydrogen fuel to make low carbon steel and batteries to power clean vehicles.

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